You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

The Indian logistics industry is undergoing a dynamic transformation both in terms of deliverables and its place in the economy. The sector already contributes to around 13per cent of India’s GDP. The industry is slated to be worth $215 Bn by 2021 as per CARE ratings. Higher accuracy, improved efficiency and enhanced customer satisfaction are, therefore, the need of the hour for the industry.

Logistical efficiency denotes the degree of smoothness with which an organization conducts its operations and it directly impacts the internal processes as well as the customer relations in a logistics business. With the sector predicted to play a bigger role in the economy it is imperative to adopt the best of the practices to enable this fast-tracked growth. The sector can adapt the following best practices to keep up the pace with market requirements and changing business.

Live Tracking and Rescheduling of Orders

Tracking and tracing of order is a key component for managing logistics networks. To earn credibility from customers, it is important for logistics companies to execute livetracking. With live tracking, customers can track their shipment in real-time thus reducing missed delivery count and complaints. It also helps service providers keep a watch on their drivers from pick up to drop off.

Order Rescheduling honours customer convenience and adds to the measure of customer satisfaction.

Call Masking

Actions via internet and calls as the mode of communication are the cornerstone of e-commerce and logistics sectors respectively. Hence, there is a need for amplified customer privacy while ordering online to safeguard customer’s apprehension of leakage of their personal and confidential information such as phone number, card details or address etc. In order to protect such sensitive information, features like call masking are vital for preventing the misuse of customer's contact details.

Geo-Fencing Technology

Geo-fencing is a way of keeping the record of every rider in a specific location where he/she has to deliver the products. It provides right time information and keeps away fraud remark of the rider on the location. It helps in supervising the time used within geo-fence boundaries to determine if drivers are attending to the assigned jobs only.

Quality Check of Product in e-commerce Returns at Customer Doorsteps

Features like free returns encourage consumers to buy more and return whatever doesn’t satisfy their need. Technological innovations are enabling the delivery partners to execute quick quality checks at the customer’s doorstep for returned products influencing the purchase pattern of the customers.

Online/Card/Cash Payment at Customer Doorstep

The e-commerce industry has immensely benefitted from doorstep delivery and COD (cash on delivery) payment. The next obvious step is for providing a facility for Online/Card payment also at the customer doorstep. This aspect will help in building the confidence between the e-retailer and consumer, leading to further development of the industry.

Role of Delivery Partners in Better Customer Experience

App-based tools are used to guarantee deliveries across pan-India and also ensure consistency of services. Delivery partners are trained to interact with the customers while delivering the products. The delivery partners have a huge role in carrying the brands further as they are the only customer touch points in e-commerce trade. They are crucial in defining, managing and exceeding customer’s satisfaction.

Logistics is a vastly erratic market, where simply meeting the increase in demands is not enough. To future-proof its operations, the players must spend on their supply chains, as well as on newer technologies which can unite the distinct parts of the industry, enhancing transparency in delivering products, and improving the customer experience.

More from Entrepreneur

Brittney's a Certified Financial Planner who can help you manage your business and personal finances and navigate the ups and downs of starting a business.